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Diary of a Young Girl

Anne Frank

July 1, 1942–July 10, 1942

October 14, 1942–November 20, 1942

Summary

Margot and Mr. and Mrs. Frank cannot get used to the chiming
of the clock in the annex, but Anne feels reassured by it. She tells
her diary that living in the annex is similar to being on vacation
in a strange boarding house, and she thinks that the annex is probably the
most comfortable hiding place in all of Holland. Anne’s father had
brought her movie posters to the attic in advance, so she plasters her
bedroom walls with them. Anne looks forward to the arrival of the
van Daans, the other family who will live with them in the annex.
In a comment added to this section several months later, however,
Anne expresses how upset she is about not being able to go outside
and that she is terrified that they will be discovered and shot.

Anne begins to argue with her mother more frequently.
She feels that she does not fit in with her mother or sister, who
are both very sentimental. Anne thinks that her father is the only
one who understands her. She knows that she will not be able to
leave the annex until after the war and that only a few people will
be able to visit them. However, she is still hopeful and dreams
of many things.

The van Daan family arrives on July 13, 1942.
They come one day ahead of schedule because German call-up notices
are being sent out with increasing frequency and causing unrest.
Mr. van Daan explains what happened after the Franks’ disappearance.
The Franks had deliberately spread false rumors to throw the Gestapo off
their trail, so most of their friends think they went to Switzerland.

Mr. Voskuijl, the father of one of Mr. Frank’s coworkers,
builds a bookcase in front of the door to the annex to conceal it.
Anne’s mother and Mrs. van Daan argue a lot, and Peter van Daan
annoys the Franks with his hypochondria. Anne adds that Mrs. van
Daan and her mother both speak abominable Dutch but that she will properly
transcribe it in her diary. Anne is also studying French and memorizes
five irregular verbs each day. She complains that Mrs. van Daan
criticizes her even though Anne is not her daughter.

Anne and the others in the annex must take turns using
the hot water to take baths, and when the plumber visits the building,
they must sit completely still. Every time the doorbell rings, Anne
is terrified because she thinks it is the Gestapo. Later, Anne imagines
that she is in Switzerland and has 150 guilders
to spend. She hears only bad news about the fates of the Franks’
many Jewish friends and begins to tackle the issue of her identity,
since she is both a German and a Jew.

Analysis

At first, Anne sees her new life in hiding as an adventure
of sorts. Though the two families live in constant fear of capture,
they spend their time thinking about simpler, more immediate problems.
They often try to think of ways to escape boredom. Because they
are in such close quarters, the residents begin to get annoyed with
one another’s quirks. Peter is a hypochondriac, Mrs. van Daan is
critical, and Anne’s mother and Peter’s mother fight a lot and speak improper
Dutch. At first Anne focuses on figuring out ways to avoid getting
frustrated with the others or ways to stay quiet while the plumber
is visiting. Anne’s initial pleasure with the novelty of the annex
quickly fades, as she becomes restless and frustrated at her inability
to go outside or even open the curtains during daylight hours. Even
Anne’s pervasive optimism cannot keep her from feeling dread each
time the doorbell rings. The mundane routines of daily life are
not quite able to mask the constant ring of terror and fear in the
annex.

The war causes Anne to struggle with her identity as
both a German and a Jew. She initially identifies herself with the
Germans, writing, “Fine specimens of humanity . . . and to think
I’m actually one of them!” However, she immediately refutes her
own statement, writing “No, that’s not true, Hitler took away our
nationality long ago. And besides, there are no greater enemies
on earth than the Germans and the Jews.” Anne’s words demonstrate
her contempt for the Nazis and her confusion at the fact that they
are in fact fellow Germans. Anne feels a stronger connection to
the Dutch, but her first instinct is to identify herself as German.
She quickly rethinks this notion, realizing that the Nazis no longer
consider Jews to be Germans.

The adults in the annex likely share Anne’s confusion
about their national and ethnic identity. Having lived in Germany
for most of their lives, the Frank and the Van Daan adults have
significant roots there. Thirty years earlier, Anne’s father and
other German Jews had fought for the German army in World War I.
Likewise, in the Netherlands, Dutch Jews and non-Jews lived side
by side, considering themselves members of a unified and integrated
community. However, the Nazi regime’s rise to power brought the
painful realization that both Nazis and many other German people
considered Jews foreign or different. As we see in Anne’s identity
crisis, the Nazi regime killed not only Jewish people but also the
Jewish community’s collective connection to its past. While the
Nazis forced Jews to wear stars to mark their identity, they simultaneous
stripped the Jews of their identity as members of society.

Anne’s diary demonstrates the impact the Holocaust has
on a single girl, which personalizes this sprawling historical horror.
Anne becomes preoccupied with questions about who she is and whom she
wants to become, and her once innocent perspective changes considerably.
The Holocaust forces Anne to grow up and come to terms with her
own identity—her role as a member of her family, as a Jew, and as
a young woman in a dangerous, threatening world.